Students’ trip was sponsored, worthwhile

This letter is in response to a Letter to the Editor submitted by Joe Maschue of Altoona and printed by the Mirror on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017.

As the Community Relations Director at AASD, I would like to respond to Maschue’s letter regarding AASD student travel to State College to attend the Traveling Wall exhibit when in fact, there is a Vietnam Memorial Wall model at the VA Hospital.

The Traveling Wall exhibit in State College is part of a multi-platform community engagement project commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.

AASD students along with two other school districts are participating in this community project sponsored by WPSU.

Students participated in an Education Day where they spent the day hearing area Vietnam veterans share their personal experiences and talk about the significance and meaning of the war, visited an encampment display with military and medical equipment and worked with WPSU professional film and radio producers on creating student-led story telling projects surrounding the Vietnam War.

The students visited the installation of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute Wall after learning about the design and symbolism of the memorial.

This trip was sponsored and funded by WPSU.

We are honored to have our students involved in such an important and historical reflection of the Vietnam War. It is an opportunity for our students to work with WPSU and for them to create and contribute their own stories to help tell the Pennsylvania story.

A special thank you to Carolyn Donaldson and all those at WPSU for including and engaging our young people in such a significant and valuable project.